Naknek River Alaska Fly Fishing

Plainfield Man Wins $11000 Alaska Trip

Chris Hurst was so taken aback seeing the name “ Trout Unlimited ” on his caller ID, he let the phone call go to voicemail.

It seemed a bit surreal, he said, given that the night before he and his wife had been discussing the odds of being randomly chosen in the contest sponsored by the group and the ExOfficio outdoor clothing company.

“I enter these things all the time, but I never win,” Hurst, a Plainfield resident, said.  

But win he did, and sometime next summer he and wife Stephanie will be heading to Bristol Bay for a three-night stay at the Alaska Sportsman Bear Trail Lodge on the Naknek River. It’s perhaps one of the best places in the world for king salmon fishing, Hurst said, and he hopes to schedule the trip so he can do both that and snag some rainbow trout.

When the couple hit the river to do a little fly fishing, they’ll be decked out head to toe in ExOfficio Bugs Away insect-repellent clothing, right down to their undergarments, he said.

A three-night stay at the lodge is priced at $4,200, according to its Web site, and the total prize – which includes transportation from Seattle to Alaska, lodging, guides and clothing – is valued at $11,000.

The lodge is in such a remote area that the only way to reach it is by plane, Hurst said.

Hurst, 33, a firefighter for Fermilab in Batavia, said he and his wife will likely bring his 9-year-old stepdaughter as well. She can stay with his wife’s aunt and uncle in Anchorage while they’re at the lodge, and then the family will likely extend the trip a bit longer to enjoy Alaska, he said.

It will be the second time he’s been to the state. His trip two years ago was also a family vacation, which was particularly memorable because his stepdaughter “hooked a king salmon,” he said.

Hurst, a self-described “die-hard angler,” said one of the trip’s highlights will be a chance to see Bristol Bay’s natural habitats and fisheries, which may be altered forever if the Pebble Mine is allowed to open a huge open pit gold mine at the bay’s headwaters.

As for his losing streak, maybe this contest win has changed his luck.

“I ran right out and bought some lottery tickets (after learning he’d won the Alaska trip),” he said.

He collected $10 with two tickets and $20 with the ones he purchased with his winnings. Alas, he didn’t become an instant millionaire, but he did break even. “I was happy with that,” he said.

Mad River Outfitters: Alaska! Naknek River Camp

Traveling to Alaska has always involved tough choices. Will the kids get new shoes for school or will I get that new fly line I need? Will the wife finally be able to get that dishwasher she has been dreaming about or will I get the new zip front breathable waders? Will I only be able to golf twice a week or will I be forced to fish shoulder to shoulder on the Alaska road system with all of the other poor souls that bought General Motors stock? Many a fisherman has been forced to save his pennies for years and years to be able to afford that one “trip of a lifetime”. "We founded the Naknek River Camp on the basic premise that Alaska was just too amazing to be kept as a playground for the rich. We set out to create Alaska’s Affordable Alternative, featuring 8 comfortable cabins located within Katmai National Park, at the outlet of Naknek Lake. This unique location offers quick access to both the Naknek River with its prolific runs of salmon and trophy rainbow trout and to the wadeable wilderness streams that feed into the incredibly beautiful Naknek Lake. Of course, no other lodge at any price can boast that they have the amazingly productive upper Naknek River just outside their front door. It is no coincidence that Fish Alaska Magazine has chosen the Naknek as the best place to fish for trophy Alaskan rainbows year after year. Our home run in front of camp features some of the fastest action for trophy rainbow available in the entire state. You will have to give up a few luxuries, of course, but we do our best to make our guests comfortable. We hope that when you leave, you will feel like you have spent a week with family. My wife Phyllis and my daughter Tana will do their best to keep you stuffed full of the best foods wild Alaska has to offer, like wild salmon and halibut, mixed in with a few favorites from our dinner table in Michigan like smothered pork chops and Dijon chicken. Breakfast will be full of hearty foods like scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage and bacon. You won't have to give up hot showers or running water, and you'll even be able to charge your camera batteries in your cabin. No Masseuse on staff, but I might be able to get one of my kids to walk on your back.

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